My friend Wendy and I were just talking about Adam "MCA" Yauch yesterday, hoping he would be in remission from cancer soon and that the Beastie Boys would tour again.
When I found out that the 47-year-old founding member of the band died today after his three-year battle, I was devastated.
I have special memories of MCA. When I was 16, the Beastie Boys’ album Check Your Head was released. During my formative years leading up to that, I listened to Licensed to Ill as a novelty and laughed at the video for "Hey, Ladies" (from Paul's Boutique) on MTV, but for some reason, the '92 classic hit me in the right spot. I don’t know if was my age or because my friends and I quickly became obsessed.
We listened to Check Your Head constantly, and then started appreciating the past albums. We were mad at ourselves for not giving Paul’s Boutique a chance before then. They played at Jannus Landing that May. We packed in my mom’s Thunderbird and made the drive across the bridge. While waiting for the show, Mike D stood behind us wearing a Minor Threat t-shirt and talking to some girls, not too much older than us. They soon followed him backstage. I killed myself for not trying to talk to him, but I knew I would have just stood there awkwardly.
I had barely kissed a regular boy, how would I have talked to a Beastie Boy?
This article appears in May 3-9, 2012.